The most common inherited disorder causing blindness in man is retinitis pigmentosa, a family of diseases in which the photoreceptor cells of the retina degenerate disappear slowly and progressively over a period of years. Similar inherited diseases are known in several laboratory animals. In the past several decades the most widely studied mutant has been the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat with inherited retinal dystrophy. Four congenic strains of RCS rats are also available that either serve as genetic control animals or have different types of eye pigmentation and different rates of retinal degeneration. The goals of this proposal are 1) to maintain a breeding colony of the RCS rats and four congenic strains, 2) to maintain the congenic status of the congenic strains, and 3) to distribute animals and eye tissues to other investigators who request them. It is anticipated that increased availability of these animals will stimulate research by attracting new and established investigators to the field of inherited retinal degenerations.